I had to look up exactly what backdraft meant in the context of a fire to be certain it fit the episode. The actual definition is: a phenomenon in which a fire that has consumed all available oxygen suddenly explodes when more oxygen is made available, typically because a door or window has been opened.
I think it works quite well. Little Inca’s life had be stagnant and slowly suffocating for some time and now, all the excitement and the promises of the Evangelist seems to have let a bit of a fresh breeze in. Kaboum.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the light throughout this episode because it was really beautiful. The fight having lasted all day, the episode opens in late afternoon and everything is bathed in that yellow light that’s almost always bad news in this series. It might have something to do with all the sooth in the air.
Do you guys remember my past episode reviews?
For one I said Inca’s attitude seemed well suited for the Evangelist. I also said even earlier that her character design made me think that she wouldn’t end up as part of the main cast. It’s distinctive and recognizable enough for her to be an important character. Mind you Fire Force is actually full of very unique character designs. But it isn’t detailed or let’s say…alluring enough to be a character we see all the time in my opinion. Just compared to the rest of the main cast. To be honest it was kind of a stab in the dark but here we are. And Inca has been a bad girl.
I read the comments on Crunchyroll for this episode and a lot of people seem to really think Fire Force is going to come up with some contrived way to redeem her. Some people are even already a little mad about it. It hasn’t happened yet guys. It’s o.k.!!
I’m not saying it’s impossible but I’m really not so sure.
The sunset is breathtaking. The yellow sun giving way to a contrasting purple sky and then leading into a bright sunny day seen through a variety of different settings and how those rays are coming through differently and creating different colours.
Fire Force had no problem making Rekka irredeemable and then just unceremoniously disposing of him. At the hands of his supposed allies at that. And Rekka was a more likable character in many ways. Not to mention that the show already sports a pretty huge cast of good guys, some of which could also use a bit of redemption. If any Evangelist agent is going to do a face turn this season, I vote for Lisa. The ground work is already there and everything. Oh and I guess Sho…
I’m saying a redemption of Inca is somewhat redundant. Having Shinra come face to face with a complete dismissal of his values and worldview is way more interesting and a much better use of the character if you ask me.
Even in this very episode it had two amazing consequences. One, it made the Fire Force’s success a little shallow and allowed Shinra to reflect on the fact that for every 10 lives saved, there is one lost. One must learn to take in the good with the bad in this type of job. And also, that there are people who freely choose the Evangelist and as such, maybe some don’t want to be saved. That’s a huge lesson for Shinra and I’m not sure he’ll be able to learn it.
As the team sets off on the see, everything is blue. The light becomes flat and even. It’s an endless expanse.
The other thing I mentioned last week was that all the action was really fun but I thought it felt like it was time for Fire Force to slow it down a bit and give us a bit of exposition. Well apparently my wish is this show’s command. We got exactly that and it was great!
After the business with Inca, we got to catch up with a few of the Fire Force companies and surprisingly, it seems they are largely on the same side. That is with company 8 and against the Evangelist. Yay! Company 1 is still playing some political games but they are trying to help as much as they can without revealing their hand. Notably absent from these scenes were companies 5 and 7 which have already chosen to stand with 8 and company 3 which I’m pretty sure has been completely won over to the Evangelist side but I could be wrong.
Moreover, it also seems that our good guys finally have at least some vague idea of what the Evangelist is hoping to accomplish so for the first time, they can take a preemptive step instead of just waiting for the next strike. And that step comes in the form of visiting the Chinese peninsula for information.
This turn of events is super exciting to me. I actually cheered. I’ve been dying to see what the world outside of Tokyo looks like. For me this is a great direction for the story to take and it comes at a really good time!
One thing did make me raise an eyebrow though. Victor is still in touch with Joker and they seem as friendly as ever. Well friendly might be a stretch but casually non confrontational and all. Victor is a great…wild card…
With the popularity of Fire Force wonder if this would encourage people to get into the guy who created this show to also bring on a reboot of Soul Eater (And hopefully Tommy Heavenly6 also works on the music as well)
-K Anthony.
I doubt it. Soul Eater was much more popular and fans have been clamoring for a remake of that horrible ending for years with no interest. Then again, you never know.
This decade could hopefully be the decade of revitalizing new life into dormant ips like TWERY,Shaman King and that new Inyuyasha anime coming out.
I really like Inca as a character. She has this strange combination of fatalism and rebellion going on, and It sort-of co-exists with very little conflict (there’s this “it’s not me” line that hints at a deeper conflict; but nothing overt). And the fun thing is that Shinra and Inca are incompatible at the base. Obi might have been able to win her over (though even then it’d have been hard), but Shinra and his hero complex? That’s a match made in an alchemist’s couldron.
I’ve never been sure who Victor actually is. Do we know his job before he got asigned to the 8th? I don’t think he and joker are allies; it feels more like they geek out about fire stuff together – as if they’ve got some sort of bet going? I could be totally wrong.
Also, I’m not really sure the Evangelist is the final boss. Could be, but this is anime, and in anime the overt villain often is privy to information our heroes are not, which calls into question loyalties. And there’s this religious undercurrent with the sisters, too… There’s something deeper going on. It’s obvious, for starters, that Joker knows something, and it’s possible Victor knows, too.
What I’m seeing is some sort of “schism” in the church, and a sort of political power grab, and the founding members of the 8th are basically atheists, and somebody allowed them special priviledges. It’s an interesting set-up. They don’t affirm religion, but neither do they rag on it. Same with Shinra and Arthur’s hero/knight complex. The show seems to be so appealingly accepting.
I’m with you, I think the Evangelist is likely a symptom and there are obvious political games happening behind the scenes. However we might not get to that this season.